Month: December 2017

The China, Latin America and South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesks are holding their Annual Stakeholder Meeting in Brussels on the 31st of January 2018. The event will include live case-study sessions with SMEs, training on the role of IP in a Technology Transfer strategy when going international and an interactive panel on Enforcement Strategies and Future Trends.

This meeting will be a key opportunity to have your say on the services of the Helpdesks and join discussions on what can be done towards its continuous improvement in terms of support to businesses and collaboration with partner organisations and experts.

Francis Gurry, WIPO’s Director General, pointed out in a recent interview the challenges posed by new scientific and technological developments for IP administration, policy and governance.

In this sense, it is nothing new that Intellectual Property Law, as any other field of law, lags behind technological, market and social realities. For this reason, it is in the hands of law-makers, authorities and industry to take all the necessary steps to adjust current regulations to the existing scientific and technological development.

However, if we actually look at the European and Latin American national and regional legislation panorama, we can notice that most of them require an update and adjustment in their copyright regulation to match the new digital reality.

In this regard, the major challenges to be addressed are the digitalization and distribution of content over Internet, the improvement of access to online content and cross boarder access, the current and future development of the “Internet of the Things”, appropriate protection of creators and fair payment for the online use of their works, among others.

Nonetheless, the digital revolution not only involves difficulties, but also opportunities. As regards copyright, creators such as Imogen Heap, are becoming aware of the business prospects that new technologies like Blockchain can bring to them. Imogen Heap, through her Mycelia project, has been the first author that has distributed her song, Tiny Human, by means of a smart contract using block chain.

Given the current context, it is not surprising that the negotiating and adopting a new Copyright legislation is not a piece of cake.

In Europe, for instance, the proposal of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, has received nearly 1,000 amendments. Even so, the approval of said Directive is getting closer. On the 10th of October, the Juri Committee is expected to vote on the content of the new EU Copyright Directive.

The key issues at debate are:

The creation of ancillary rights for press publishers (art.11).

The obligation for online service providers to monitor and prevent copyright infringements by users (art. 13).

Fair remuneration in contracts for authors and performers (art.14-16).

It must be note that In Europe, a Community Directive of 2001 is in charge of regulating the Digital Market.

In Latin America, most national and regional copyright legislations (such as the Decision 351 of the Andean Community) also require an update to match the requirements of the digital era. It should be borne in mind that the majority of them were approved long before the irruption of the information and communication revolution.

Nonetheless, these region are taking action as reflected in the last Regional Meeting for Directors of the Copyright Offices of Latin America held in Colombia. The participating countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela) addressed current global issues. “Rights management in the digital environment: initiatives to make the management and ownership of digital rights more efficient” and “Orange Economy, Challenges and Opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Intellectual Property Rights and Entrepreneurship” are one of the topics that were addressed during the Meeting.

Even though many Latin American countries have introduced modifications in their national Copyright laws over the last years, such as for Colombia, Ecuador or Brazil, as a rule of thumb, it can be said that digital challenges have not yet been fully addressed in this region.

Expect legislative changes in the near future. To be up to date about Latin America’s latest copyright and IP developments, do not forget to visit our news section or subscribe to our newsletter.

About Your LATAM FlagshIP

The Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk team proudly welcomes you to its brand new blog, in which you will find updated information concerning Intellectual Property Rights in Latin America, as well as other interesting information about SMEs, Internationalization, R&D or Innovation.

Implemented by

The Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk is a free service for SMEs which provides practical, objective and factual information about Intellectual Property Rights in Latin America. The services are not of a legal or advisory nature and no responsibility is accepted for the results of any actions made on the basis of its services. The content and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises or any other body of the European Union.

Before taking specific actions in relation to IPR protection or enforcement all customers are advised to seek independent advice. Neither the European Commission nor the Agency may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained herein.
Our Privacy Policy